Audio conferencing platforms allow businesses to save time and money by using conference facilities rather than organising face-to-face meetings. This post lets you know what a conference line (or conference bridge) is and the most common advanategs to using this service.
What is a Conference Line?
A Conference Line is a virtual telephone line which allows a number of people to dial the number at the same time and have a shared conversation. Conference lines (or conference bridges) can have geographic numbers such as 01 for Dublin or 021 for Cork. Universal Conference Lines using an 0818 number are useful if participants are calling from anywhere in the world. A conference line number has exactly the same number of digits as a landline.
Who uses Conference Lines?
Conference lines are generally used by businesses who need to hold a conference call in which people from different office locations can dial in to and join in a shared discussion.
What are the Benefits of using a Conference Line?
- Efficiency — This includes both cost and productivity. It means that instead of each participant travelling to the Head Office, for example, they can instead remain at their own location and use their time more productively.
- Better Communication — Use of the conference facility encourages companies to include personnel who may not otherwise be travelling to Head Office to communicate directly with their colleagues in other offices. This results in better communication not only between Head Office and other offices but also between offices. Each person who has dialled into the conference call hears exactly the same message at the same time. This can be vitally important in large firms where misunderstandings can occur due to a difference in the timing or content of a message.
- Security — Conference lines (or conference bridges) have the facility whereby a pin number is required in order to join the conference call. This adds a level of security which means that no unauthorised personnel will be allowed to dial into the call. As each participant dials in to join the call, they have to give their name. Their name is then announced to the group who have already dialled in. The result of this is that everyone is aware of who has joined the call. The pin number can be changed on the conference line so that if it is used again, a different pin number will be used in order to dial in.
- Minutes — There is also a facility to have the call recorded. This allows anyone who may be typing minutes of the conference call to check the discussion and action points. The recording can also be archived and kept for future reference if required.
- Ease of Use — You can dial into a conference line from any landline or mobile without having to download any extra software.
